Page 24 of Beautiful Dangerous

“Hold it, like this.”

Javier comes up behind me, his hand covering mine as I grip the gun.

“There you go. Now, put your finger on the trigger, and aim for the target.”

“Just like that?”

He lets go of me and steps back. “Just like that. I’m throwing you in at the deep end because we don’t have time for anything else. I need you to be able to handle yourself.”

I’d never held a gun before. Never owned one. Never wanted to. But now I have to, I need to be able to defend myself. To protect myself.

“Come on, Olivia. Don’t let me down.”

I lift the gun, aim it at the target, and gently pull my finger back before letting go, the force of the bullet shooting out sending me reeling backwards, but I quickly steady myself.

“Good girl!” Javier exclaims, and I look up to see him examining the target. “I think you might be a natural.”

My first shot – my first ever attempt at firing a gun has hit the center of the board, and I can’t help but smile.

“You make me very proud, Olivia. But you still need to practice.”

“Isn’t a lot of this instinct?”

He slides his hands into his pockets and frowns. “Instinct?”

“Yeah. If someone’s coming for you, you just need to make sure you get there first. Am I right?”

He laughs. “Yes. You’re right.”

I lift the gun again, taking a second, much more confident shot, which hits the board just a hair’s breadth from the first. But this is pretend. This isn’t real. And this life I’ve chosen to live, it’s very real. And yet, I still don’t regret my decision to be a part of this world.

“Put the gun down now, Olivia.”

I turn around and go over to him, but I keep the gun in my hand. “I need to get used to it. So, it stays with me.”

“Put the gun away.”

I slide it down the back of my jeans and he takes my hand and pulls me toward him.

“No-one else would ever get away with talking to me the way you talk to me.”

His eyes burn into mine, and I smile a slow smile, I like pushing him. But that’s exactly what he wants. He doesn’t want someone who submits to him, he wants someone who’ll fight him. He likes being pushed. It’s all part of my training.

“I think it excites you, when I talk back.”

He smiles, but his fingers tighten their grip on my wrist. “Everything about you excites me, Olivia. Watching that pretty, innocent girl turn into this beautiful, wild woman, you’ll never understand how that makes me feel.”

“It’s all down to you. You did this. You changed me. You made me this woman, and now, I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be than by your side.”

His mouth falls onto mine, the kiss soft and warm and gentle, everything our world isn’t.

“I never want to be apart from you,” he murmurs, and I hold him tight and close my eyes and I try not to think of a time when we’ll ever be apart. That’s the only thing that scares me, about all of this – Javier not being here. He leaves a room and I feel like I can’t breathe without him, I love him in a way I never thought possible. And to have a man like him love me back in such a powerful way, it feels unreal sometimes.

“Don’t, Javier.”

He smiles again and strokes my hair, his hand now resting lightly against the base of my spine. “We must be ready for anything, Olivia,” he whispers. “Ignorance and denial has no place in this world.” He lets go of me and steps away, sliding his hands back into his pockets. “Stay. Practice some more. I have work to do inside.”

I pull my gun back out and turn it over in my hand, staring down at it.

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